Matty's Big Board Prospect Countdown: 17!

Hey folks, the Super Bowl is behind us and it's time to focus on the next big event and that is the all powerful and mighty draft, which has the ability to take a team from the bottom of the barrel and turn them into a playoff caliber team (ex. Dolphins and Falcons). What I plan on doing is twice a week until draft weekend, I'll be counting down my top 25 prospects, discuss their strengths, weaknesses, overall impact in the NFL and potential landing spot. So, without further delay, I bring you the player who ranked number 17...

17. Andre Smith, OG/OT Alabama Crimson Tide

2008 Season Stats:
Outland Trophy Winner

Career Stats:
07-08 1st team All-SEC

Personal Stats:
6'4" 334 lbs. JR

Strengths:

Andre Smith is a beast of an offensive lineman and the pure definition of road grater. He is a wide bodied, long armed beast of a lad, he is a crushing run blocker and a well balanced pass blocker as he knows how to lock out, sink his hips and anchor against bullrushers and react to more finesse moves. He has fairly good athleticism and mechanics and definitely has a lot of upside and potential considering how young he is and the frame he has where he should be able to make himself a tad lighter so he can be quicker against speed rushers. He gets to the second level fairly well and blocks nicely in space, he has a mean streak and all the intangibles to be a solid NFL lineman.

Weaknesses:

Andre Smith has a few weaknesses, the most blatant and obvious one now is his severe lack of maturity. Andre Smith proved to be not ready for the rigors and bright lights of NFL when he came off as immature in his interviews and proved to be ridiculously unprepared as he was overweight, out of shape and not ready to handle his duties for the biggest job interview of his life. He also lacks the ideal athletic ability and height to be a great offensive tackle in at the next level, though he has long arms he has short legs and tends to bend at his hips a lot when he should be bending at the knees.

Overall:

Andre Smith has done a lot for his career at Alabama, but he has also done a lot to hurt it as well. Getting suspended for the Sugar Bowl, not interviewing well and leaving the combine early are all red flags but I believe some team will find the upside in Andre Smith and get themselves a Pro Bowl player. I feel he won't be a tackle at the next level but an elite guard, much like Davin Joseph, Shawn Andrews and Leonard Davis. I think he has a lot of value and versatility but considering his character red flags I would be tentative to give him a lot of guaranteed money that a top 5 to 10 selection warrants.



Projected NFL Destination:

With the 16th selection, the San Diego Chargers select...









There you have it folks, be sure to tune in later this week for Prospect #16!